Colchicum peloponnesiacum

Description

Colchicum peloponnesiacum naturally has very small bulbs, perhaps only 2.5cm long and these make glabrous foliage with the flowers (sometimes the leaf edges have just a few sparse hairs). The leaves number 4-6 and are narrowly linear. They which vary from 5-20cm long but they are only 1.5-2.5mm wide, so £grassy” is probably an appropriate adjective.

The autumnal flowers are held in a small cluster and are a pale but bright rose-pink in the shape of starry funnels. These flowers become paler, to almost white, at the base. Within the flowers, the anthers are a pale grey to greyish-yellow, (rarely tending towards black) but they all produce yellow pollen once they mature.

As this is a dwarf species, it is best grown in a pot, pan or bulb frame, where it will not get lost or swamped by adjacent foliage. A well-drained, loam based soil or compost with good drainage and a dry summer rest is adequate as it is easily pleased.

Colchicum peloponnesiacum was named as long ago as 1949 but appears to have been largely overlooked since then ( Rech.f. & P.H.Davis , Oesterr. Bot. Z. 95: 427 1949). It has been confirmed botanically from only a handful of sites in Peloponnessos, S. Greece where it is endemic, though it is inconspicuous and may be more widespread